Speaking Of Vices
by we're in bat country now
Summary: Pre Movie. JackOC. Jack's vice has a firm grip on him. Until Alex starts showing up whenever and wherever he decides he wants to give into it. How long can he hide it from her and will his vice become hers? Rated to be safe,language and drug references
1. Chapter 1

**Some of this story I imagine at this stage is going to be slightly AU. At the moment though, we're pre movie. Jack is 16, which I guess makes Bobby around about 25? I'm not sure what their exact ages are supposed to be in the movie. I've rated it for drug use and language. There's not going to be any slash, just to clear that up early on.**

**But yeah, to do the usual spiel, I don't own Four Brothers or any of the characters in this chapter except Jasper, hope you enjoy and please review.**

Jack stared giddily down at the small brown paper package that had been tossed towards him, barely able to accept in his mind that it wasn't just a product of his distressed imagination. He knew what was in it and he was sure that the grin on his face had to be at least three miles wide.

"I can't believe you actually got it. I thought you said Dan wasn't gonna supply to you anymore cause he was shit mad at you," he said, falling to his knees onto the hard floorboards and feverishly trying to get the package open.

"I know, man. He just started letting me buy off him again like that. I don't know what I did, Jackie Boy, but we're set for at least… I don't know, I'd say maybe…," Jasper cocked his head at the package as he knelt down beside Jack before breaking into a huge smile, "… A good few hours at least."

"Hey, a _great_ few hours, man," Jack corrected. He laughed in disbelief as he finally got through the paper and was left with a small plastic bag filled with fine nondescript powder. His eyes had never beheld a more welcome sight. It had been close to two days since his last hit and he'd say he had become a little tiny bit more than unglued in that time. Of course, anyone else who had seen the way he had been pacing Jasper's apartment, pausing only to scream out in frustration into his hands, until a just a short minute ago would have said he had been a reckless, high strung, jittery, nervous basket case at best.

He liked his portraiture better.

"I get first taste, dude," Jasper pushed Jack's hands away from the bag.

"Yeah, you always do," Jack sighed sullenly, flopping back against the beaten up couch behind them.

"That's because I'm the one that risks my ass out there buying this shit!" Jasper pointed out in exasperation before ducking his head to the table in front of them.

"Do you even understand how fucking dead I would be if any of my brothers found out that I was out on the streets buying junk? And you know that they would-"

"Yeah, I do know already, Jack. You've told me," Jasper reminded him, barely lifting his head at all.

"Yeah, but I still don't think you really get it. I would be dead. Gone. Buried. No more. No longer living-"

Both boys jumped at sudden violent knocking at the door.

"Who the fuck is it?!" Jasper screamed, severely beyond displeased at being interrupted.

"It's fucking Bobby, you jackass!" the response was just as irate.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Jack spat as he made a quick grab for the bag.

"Hey, what are you trying?" Jasper yelped, reaching to snatch it back. Jack ignored him, frantically looking around him for a split second before shoving the plastic bag in between a couple of his school books and zipping his duffel shut.

"You in there, Jack?" The knocking continued, just as hard and just as loud.

Jack hurriedly brushed away the thin film of powder covering portions of the table with his sleeve.

"Hey! I was gonna use that!" Jasper shouted angrily. Jack looked up at him with a glare.

"Wipe your nose, you moron." Jasper hesitated for just a second before obliging his friend.

"Open the door, Jack!" Bobby was growing more impatient at a much faster rate than any other vaguely normal person, hardly a shock to Jack who raked both of his hands roughly through his hair as he took one last look around him for any incriminating evidence.

"Jack-!"

"I'm coming, Bobby! Relax!"

Taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm his raising heart, Jack started towards the door, which was now starting to rattle in it's hinges with the onslaught it was receiving on the other side. He slowly unlatched the lock and after pausing for a moment, turned the handle.

"What took you so long, Jackie?" Bobby asked with a deceivingly pleasant smile on his face as he leaned casually against the door frame, cracking his gum. Not giving Jack a chance to respond, he pushed past him into the apartment. Jack sighed, banging his head into the wall before following after him.

"H-hi, Bobby," Jasper stood up, nervously shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching his shoulders.

"Hey, Jasper," Bobby muttered disinterestedly, more set on visually ransacking the rundown apartment than making small talk with his brother's suspect friend. He smirked at the sheer extent of the seediness Jasper's home oozed; it was almost too cliché for him to handle. There were numerous boards missing from the floor and the ones that had stuck it out were rotting beyond repair. Four or more layers of decaying paint showed on the bare walls that were decorated with just a couple of fist sized holes. The couch looked like it had just as many things living in it as it smelt like had died on it. He half expected the rug beneath his feet to get up and crawl away as soon as he stepped off. The table was short a leg and was propped up by what should have been an embarrassingly tall pile of porn magazines though Jasper had apparently decided that his extensive collection was worthy of being displayed. He did also notice, however, that it's relatively dust free surface stood out from pretty much everything else in the room.

"What are you doing here, Bobby?"

Jack's voice impeded his silent inquiry.

"You go to school today, Jack?" Bobby asked, his eyes daring Jack to lie to him.

Jack swallowed and worked his jaw before answering, "Sure."

"You just forgot to answer in roll call or something then?" There was no misplacing the steadily growing menace in Bobby's voice.

Jack's eyes fell to his shoes. He was standing in much the same position as Jasper now, his chin almost touching his chest and his hands thrust deeply into the pockets of his hoodie. He could only shrug in response. Bobby let him stir under his harsh scrutiny for a few seconds longer before motioning back towards the door.

"Let's go home, Jack."

"Me and Jasper need to exchange notes for class," Jack lied quickly, his mind on the drugs in his bag.

"You can do it tomorrow when you go to school," Bobby replied impatiently, raising his voice above Jack's.

"But-"

"I said let's go," Bobby barked. Jack scowled at him before snatching up his bag and starting towards the door.

Jasper followed and grabbed his arm, "But when are you going to give me-", he shut his mouth upon catching Jack's fierce look before speaking again, "…The notes. When are you gonna give me those notes?"

Jack looked back at Bobby to see if they had raised any suspicion in him than he possessed already. His older brother just stared back at him, telling nothing with his gaze. Jack turned his attention back to Jasper, "Just like Bobby said, I'll give it to you tomorrow at school."

"First thing?"

Jack silently cursed his friend before replying through gritted teeth, "Yes. First thing."

"Are you boys gonna tie this bittersweet goodbye up anytime soon?" Bobby once again voiced his desire to leave, "Or should I just pull up a chair now?"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jas," Jack said with blatant finality he hoped Jasper would notice. He could've collapsed in relief when Jasper didn't say anything else as he walked out the door.

"Always good to see you, Jasper," Bobby nodded as he followed. He paused to gesture back inside, "And I, uh, really like what you've done with the place."

"Man, I haven't touched anything since I got here," Jasper shook his head.

"You're not kidding," Bobby chuckled as he walked down the hall away from the bewildered boy.

XxXXxX

Jack stubbornly had stared out of the window the entire ride home so far. It didn't matter that it was all the same buildings, corners and houses that he had seen since he was a kid. He didn't want Bobby to see the desperation in his eyes.

He still hadn't had that hit.

Every so often, his eyes would skip down to the duffel in his lap. He was almost able to see right through it to the inside. To the plastic bag that contained, as much as it pained him to acknowledge it, what was gradually becoming his world.

"Would you quit that already?" Bobby muttered, motioning at Jack's leg which jumped up and down incessantly. Jack glanced at Bobby without making eye contact before heeding to his request only to start again less than a whole minute later without noticing. This time Bobby said nothing. He regarded Jack out of the corner of his eye for what had to have been the hundredth time. His brother seemed incredibly on edge, more so than he had ever seen him before. He was constantly moving, whether he was squirming in his seat, biting down on his nails or, annoyingly, bouncing his knee. He hadn't seen Jack's eyes much for most of the drive but if he could've, he had no doubt that they would've been darting around guiltily, unable to hold his gaze for all that long. These were all things that he recognized, just not in his youngest brother, which made it all the harder for him to determine what was really up with Jack. Half of him wanted to just go for it and scream at Jack to wake up to what he was doing to himself and quit whatever he was smoking… or snorting… or, god forbid, injecting. The other half was still in stubborn denial, wanting to pursue every other possible or impossible reason for his brother's off behavior before coming to the heart wrenching conclusion that he was hooked on drugs.

"That was our house," Jack pointed out quietly.

"Shit," Bobby cursed, pulling a crude u-turn and finally arriving home.

XxXXxX

"Oh, good. You boys are home in time for dinner," Evelyn called out as she heard the front door open. She quickly wiped her hands on a towel and went to see her sons. She arrived at the entry just in time to catch a glimpse of Jack's feet at the top of the stairs and to hear him stomp above their heads before his door slammed shut. She looked at Bobby with raised brows.

"I said we would be," Bobby shrugged as he took off his coat.

"Hi, Jack," Angel called after Jack pointlessly. He looked away from the TV briefly, "He's friendly today." When he looked back at the screen, he cursed at Jerry who had taken advantage of the distraction and either severely injured or killed his character in whatever game they had been playing.

Evelyn clicked her tongue in dislike of Angel's use of language before clapping her hands together, "Dinner. Someone get Jackie."

The three brothers looked at eachother as Evelyn headed for the kitchen.

"Don't look at me. I've had enough of that kid for one day," Bobby told them, only half joking.

"I'll go," Angel volunteered finally.

XxXXxX

Jack paced his room, occasionally rubbing at his face with his hands. His bag sat ominously on his bed, still unopened. When he stopped to stare at it, he could almost feel it staring back, challenging and taunting. He habitually reached out for it but then caught himself midair. He didn't think he had the balls to use in his own home. In Evelyn's home. He glanced at the door. No lock. Evelyn's rules. Even if there had been, Jerry had always had a gift for locks. It would've been useless. Still…

He looked back at the bag, his craving starting to overrule his common sense. For the second time he reached out for the bag. This time he didn't stop. The zipper was half open when there was quiet knocking on his door.

"Dinner, Jack," Angel announced from the hallway.

Jack quickly rezipped his bag and shoved it under the bed. "I'm coming," he muttered. Angel smiled at him and ruffled his hair as he opened the door and emerged outside.

"Knock it off, Angel," he growled, pushing away his hand.

Angel's smile turned to an expression of mock apology, "Oh, I'm sorry, Jackie. Am I bothering you?" He laughed as he reached out and messed up his hair again.

"I said knock it off, Angel!" Jack jerked away angrily, starting down the stairs.

Angel paused in the hallway for a moment, staring after his brother before shaking his head and trailing after him.

"Yeah, Jackie's _real_ friendly today," he mumbled under his breath.

XxXXxX

"Are you okay, Jackie?"

Jack looked up from his full plate to Evelyn's concerned face. He looked around the table to see that his brothers were all staring back at him expectantly. Apparently they had been after his attention for some time now. He let a confused frown crease his brow as he remained silent.

"Ma was just askin' you how school was today, Jackie," Bobby offered from across the table. Jack held his gaze for a moment, waiting to see if he was going to tell her that he had ditched school or not. Bobby just stared back at him, taking another bite of food.

"School was good," Jack looked back down at his plate, pushing the food around with his fork.

"Well… that's good, sweetheart," Evelyn accepted the response with quiet suspicion.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, noticing that everyone had finished their dinner but him. With a sigh he looked back up at Evelyn, motioning at his plate, "Sorry, Ma. I ate after school."

Evelyn regarded him for a second or two, smiling that soft, gentle smile of hers before nodding as she picked up her plate and his.

Bobby rose from his chair, "Don't worry about that, Ma." He took the plates off her and started clearing the rest. He glanced at Jack, "Me and Jack'll clean up."

Jack shot him a look, "Actually, uh, I have something on tonigh-"

"School night," Evelyn cut him off simply as she walked out of the room. Jack's shoulders slumped.

"Thanks, boys," Jerry grinned as he and Angel both stood up from the table. They raced eachother back to the TV and their game.

Jack sat for a little while longer as Bobby cleared around him.

"You gonna help me out or what?" Bobby asked finally. Jack glared up at him before pushing his chair out, letting it grate loudly on the floor. He made just as much noise as he roughly stacked plates on top of eachother and dumped them in the sink.

"You chip one of those plates and Ma'll be pretty mad," Bobby told him as he emptied scraps into the bin.

"What's you problem, Bobby?" Jack dropped another plate into the sink, very nearly shattering it.

"I should ask you the same thing," Bobby replied gruffly.

"You've been on my back constantly for so long now that I can't even remember what it feels like to be able to do anything without you screaming at me about it, that's my problem!" Jack shouted angrily, wringing violently at the dish towel he had in his hands.

"Look who's yelling," Bobby smirked back at him, infuriatingly calm, "You know, I wouldn't even be on your back if you didn't give me good reason to be."

"What reason, Bobby?!" Jack turned away from the sink to face him with a fierce scowl, "Tell me what I did that's got you breathing down my neck every fucking second of every f-"

"You doing drugs, Jackie?" Bobby asked quietly.

Jack's voice died in his throat. The brothers stared at eachother for a long moment before Jack threw the towel onto the ground and started towards the stairs. "Fuck this," he muttered under his breath before he was caught painfully by the arm. He bit back a yelp.

"Don't walk away from me, you little shit," Bobby growled as he kept his firm hold.

Jack stared at him for a stunned moment before yanking his arm away from his grasp, "Let go!"

Bobby let him leave. He stared after his brother until he heard Jack's bedroom door slam upstairs. He let out a wordless shout of rage as he gave into the urge to punch the fridge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so I've started off with _two_ long chapters. Hopefully the next ones will be shorter... but I can't make promises. **

**I don't own Four Brothers yada yada yada.**

"Needed a change of scenery?"

Her voice evoked a visible jump of fright in Jack. He had thought the park was empty. After he had snuck out of his bedroom window minutes earlier, he hadn't been able to think of anywhere else to go. He jerked his head in the direction from which the question had come from to see a girl he recognized from school. She stood in just a t-shirt and jeans, hugging her arms tightly around her small frame against a sudden gust of icy wind that sent her blonde hair flailing around her face. When she got no response from Jack, she drifted a little closer to the table he was sitting at, lifting her cigarette to her lips as she walked.

As she sat down opposite him, aware of Jack's eyes following her as she moved, she arched a brow and nodded, "I know what you mean. I find it hard to do it my house too." A frown creased Jack's brow. Seeing this, she motioned at his bag that sat on the table between them, "Homework, right? You always lose your concentration at home, but in the end it has to be done. So you came here. I know what you mean."

Alexis Avalen-Leigh.

Jack had never spoken to her before. To say they belonged to different circles would be putting it lightly. Jack generally surrounded himself with a handful of guys that were pretty much the stereotype vagrant trouble stirrers who spent the majority of their lunchtimes in detention. They came to school with hangovers every morning, slept through every class and were usually commencing the night's intake of their particular choice of poison before they left the school grounds in the afternoon. Of course, this was only on the days that they bothered showing up at all.

Alexis, however, had a membership to a group so entirely different, they might have well have belonged to separate galaxies. It was the group that almost literally ran the school. The members were all either cheerleaders or jocks. This earned her the coveted label of "an unapproachable". Hence the reason Jack had never spoken a word to her, despite the fact that they shared several classes together. She was forever surrounded by a chattering swarm of gossipy cheerleaders when she wasn't being exhibited on the arm of a random footballer.

On top of this, her family was wealthy. Her father, Richard Leigh, was one of the city's most prominent and well known prosecutors. He had famously won his most recent case, sending a feared gangster to prison for a string of murders that the cops had been trying to pin on him for a couple of years. Her mother, Susanne Avalen was a semi retired model who did the occasional cosmetic commercial and appearance at selected charity events.

Alexis herself would probably never have to work a day in her life and still have everything she set her heart on for longer than five seconds.

"You're Jack Mercer, right?"

Jack tried to hide any scrap of amazement that she knew who he was that might have shown on his face before giving a slightly hesitant nod.

"I'm Alex," she introduced herself like she honestly thought she had to.

"I know," Jack replied quietly, looking down at the faint scratch in the table he had been making with his thumbnail.

"Wow," Alexis breathed out smoke with a faint smile, "It speaks." She shuddered in the cold, rubbing her arm with her free hand. She gestured at the duffel bag again, "So, what subject?"

"Hmm?" Jack lifted his brows at her.

"Your homework. Have you started that assignment for lab yet? I've kind of put it off forever now. What day is it due again?" When Jack just stared at her, she shook her head with a laugh, "I'm sorry, I thought you were in my lab class."

"I am," Jack confirmed detachedly. He couldn't help but to be confused as to why one of the most idolized girls at his school was trying to make small talk with him of all people. He hadn't even started attempting to make a mental guess as to why she was trying to make idle chit chat with a virtual stranger in an isolated park at night.

"Oh," Alexis was obviously becoming uncomfortable at his blatant lack of inclination to be communicative. Truth was, Jack was becoming more and more desperate for her to leave. After all, he wasn't there to do his homework. His eyes drifted down to his bag again. He _needed_ that fix. It seemed to him that there was someone or something out there that was determined for him not to get it tonight.

Alexis let out a small sigh and flicked her now almost dying cigarette to the ground, squashing it with the bottom of her sneaker. She took a new one from the packet she fished out of her pocket before holding it out to him, "Want one?"

Jack shook his head. She shrugged as she delicately lit the cigarette perched lightly between her lips. After taking a deep drag which she breathed back out through her nose, she looked back at him, "Don't smoke?"

"Trying to quit," Jack replied.

Alexis smiled, "Good for you." Her face suddenly became apologetic and she started to flick away the newly lit cigarette, "God, how inconsiderate am I? Puffing away in front of you like it's going out of fashion or something-"

"No, it's okay," Jack shook his head, "Go all out."

"...You're absolutely sure you don't mind?" Alexis checked again, still paused in the motion of throwing her cigarette away.

"I'm absolutely sure I don't mind," Jack nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"Good. Otherwise I would've had to have left you all by yourself again," Alexis gave a playful smirk before becoming flustered, "Not that I think so much of myself that I expect you'd be disappointed if I did leave. I mean, you'd probably be relieved if anything. You must think I'm so full of myself, I…-"

She broke off sheepishly at Jack's chuckling. Eventually, after a moment of feeling slightly embarrassed, she broke into a grin as well, laughing with Jack. As their laughter died, they both fell into a mutual silence. Surprisingly to both of them, it was Jack that broke the quiet.

"So, your parents don't know that you smoke or something?" he indicated at the cigarette between her fingers.

She looked down at it, almost having forgotten it was there. "Yeah, something like that," she answered, barely audible. Jack couldn't help but to notice something in her eyes that told a completely different story. When she said nothing else, he let it slide and motioned again at her hand. If he wasn't going to be using tonight, he was going to need something to tide him over until he finally got his first chance to.

"The offer still open?"

She grinned and nodded, handing him the packet and a lighter, "We've been talking for less than ten minutes and I'm already corrupting you."

Jack had to smirk at this, "You corrupting me?"

"What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing… I just wasn't aware you were such a bad ass," Jack spoke with an amused smile around the cigarette he was lighting. Alexis' smile, however, faltered at the slight scorn that he had let intrude his voice.

"I'm not… I don't think I'm a bad ass."

"Well… That's good. I'm glad," Jack's grin grew wider, not noticing her offense at his words.

Alexis mentally shook off her indignation and arched a brow as she let a sly smile curl her lips, "So you think _you_ should be the one corrupting _me_, then?"

Jack exhaled a long trail of smoke in thought before shaking his head, "No, I don't think that I should be corrupting you at all. I just know that it would be impossible for you to corrupt me."

Alexis nodded slowly before narrowing her eyes, "But, come on, really. There's no way for you to know that

"Trust me, I know," Jack replied with unaffected certainty that was slowly but surely starting to vex her.

"You haven't even known me that long," Alexis forced herself to keep smiling as she argued.

"It doesn't matter. I know," Jack shrugged casually.

"What, you think because I'm not in detention with you every lunch or out in the car park during last period smoking pot that I couldn't possibly be as hard core as you?" she contended, no longer close to smiling.

Jack looked at her with an entertained laugh, "Please do not tell me you're serious." When she looked at him with the same straight face, he shook his head, "So, you really are one of those girls that think because they go to those loud ass, oh-my-god-so-out-of-fucking-control parties every weekend where everybody either ends up passed out or knocked out that they're genuinely a certified, revolutionary, nonconformist rebel? Give me a break."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Alexis frowned in her defense.

"You know what? You're absolutely right. So, tell me then, I'm dying to know. What do you do at those parties, huh? I mean obviously, you drink a whole lot, but that goes without saying. You probably dance around in your new, ridiculously expensive mini skirt that you bought with daddy's credit card. And gossip with your friends about the weird, ugly girl that showed up in her grandmother's cardigan and a hideously long floral skirt she bought at a thrift store who sits by herself on the couch for the whole night. Hell, if it's a real wild one, you might dabble with some speed, maybe E? Yeah, you probably really do think you're a bad ass then. And I wouldn't be surprised if when you wake up the next afternoon, a massive amount of guilt accompanies your hangover when you realize that you got so fucked up the night before that you went down on your boyfriend's best friend in his Mercedes while people laughed as they watched from outside. Fuck, maybe you've taken on the football team once or twice-"

"Screw you," Alexis spat before he could go further.

"I'm sorry, am I being too confrontational for you? Is that too much truth for you to have thrown in your face?" Jack smirked tauntingly.

"You don't even know me!" Alexis retorted angrily. Jack was stunned to hear that she was very close to tears as she pushed herself up from the table. She started to storm away, wrapping her arms around her against the freezing wind. As regret at his harsh words set in, Jack stood up also and opened his mouth to call her back when she stopped and turned on him with a fierce scowl.

"Do you honestly think that _I_ don't know who _you_ are, Jack Mercer?" she asked, brushing angrily at a tear that had spilled out onto her flushed cheek, "Everyone knows who the Mercers are, the sob story about how Evelyn Mercer took in the four biggest fuck ups in the foster care system. Let's take a closer look at you, shall we? You were so eager to tear my life right open that it would be only right for me to return the favor, after all. So, how was your childhood, Jack?"

Jack's jaw visibly tensed as he swallowed.

Alexis continued bitterly as tears continued to dampen her face, "Are you the stereotypical, everyday orphan? Your father left before you were born, your mother was a drug addict who neglected you, that sort of deal? Did she die of an overdose? Or did she leave you on some doorstep before you could walk because she just couldn't look after you anymore?" She saw his face take on an intense despair but, fueled by her own, pushed on.

"No doubt, you were in other foster homes before Evelyn's. How many were there? Five? More? I'll bet you never got shown any of the affection you desired by any of those foster parents, right? None of them gave a shit about you, they just kept you for the pay offs. And you were probably roughed up real bad since you were young. They might have even known you by name at the emergency room," Alexis' eyes narrowed as she paused, apparently debating whether or not to go further. Jack was still working his jaw silently, obviously trying to restrain his growing anger.

Against her better judgment, Alexis persisted, sauntering slowly towards him as she spoke, "Maybe there were some people who did give you the love you always wanted. A couple of your foster fathers, Jack?" she sent a look below his belt and lowered her voice to a hushed whisper, "A little bit more love than what you wanted, am I right-?"

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Jack exploded in rage so abrupt and forceful that it made her jump and stop dead in her tracks.

"Too much truth for you?" Alexis repeated his recent words quietly after her initial fright at what she knew was a warranted outburst.

Jack just glared at her as he grabbed his bag violently off the table and started to march away without another word. Alexis bit her lip and watched him leave. He was a long distance away when she gave chase after him.

"Jack! Jack, wait!" she called out as she sprinted as fast as she could.

Jack didn't slow his pace although he could hear Alexis shouting his name. He was still seething as he started to hear the soft thuds of her running feet gaining ground on him.

"Jack, come on. I'm sorry!"

Alexis' breathing was labored by the time she caught up and reached out to grab his arm. Jack pulled away from her grip but stopped and turned around to look at her expectantly. He looked as though he had cooled down a little as he walked, his eyes now holding only a fraction of the anger that they had before.

"Jack, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Alexis wheezed, holding her stomach with her hands as she gulped for air, "I don't know what got in to me, I just… I'm so, so sorry." Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground between them.

"Don't sweat it," he muttered softly, obviously not completely committed to the words but trying to be civil towards her for at least the moment. Neither of them said a word for a while, Alexis not wanting to test Jack's temporary courtesy and Jack having nowhere near forgiven Alexis.

"Look, I have to get back home," Jack said finally, motioning with a soft twist of his shoulder in the direction of where he had been heading.

"Oh, sure, of course. Go," Alexis nodded with a soft smile. Her teeth started chattering as he nodded goodbye at her and turned to leave. After a few steps, he slowed to a near stop and turned back to face her, walking backwards.

"You need me to walk you home or anything?" he checked.

Alexis laughed and shook her head, "I think I'll be okay. I was planning on walking around for a little while longer, anyway."

"You're going to walk around a park in Detroit by yourself at…," Jack checked his watch, "…half past eleven at night? On a school night? Maybe you really are a bad ass."

"Maybe," Alexis nodded before turning and walking in the opposite direction of his way home.

Jack smirked to himself as he saw her reach for another cigarette as she gave a wave goodbye high over her head.

**If you're reading this it means you read the whole chapter which means: thankyou for taking the time out. I know it was long. If you have anytime left, I'd really appreciate it if you could please review!**

**Thankyou**


	3. Chapter 3

And here he was again.

The particulars of his current circumstance were a tad bit too stereotypical for Jack's liking, when one added the time (last period), the location (behind the sports shed) and the object of his affection (his tiny, meager little vice) but he was out of alternatives and originality. He tried not to think about it. It had taken him all day to manage the simple task of being alone for five minutes.

Bobby had insisted on driving him to school that morning. It had been uncomfortable. And it had fuelled his hunger all the more.

"So... I'm, uh," Bobby had roughly rubbed at his face with one hand while Jack had stared out of the window at the passing buildings, "Look, I'm sorry about last night, Jackie. I didn't mean to lose it and accuse you like that."

Jack had just nodded, keeping silent for fear of incriminating himself by saying something stupid. The rest of the car ride had been very quiet. When they pulled up to the school, instead of getting out and escorting Jack to the front door like he thought Bobby would, Bobby instead stayed in the car and stared straight ahead while Jack got out. And then he drove off. Jack had hardly been able to hide his awe. He waited to see if Bobby would turn the corner and then come back to spy on him. But he drove straight. A slow smile spread across his face.

Maybe he was a better actor than he had originally thought.

He had barely turned around before Jasper ran into him, "Hey man! You got the... notes?" Jack winced at how self satisfied Jasper seemed at having remembered to not refer to the drugs as drugs. Like he anticipated a pat on the back for his achievement.

"Yes. Would you like me to hand them over right here?" Jack voice was acidic as he looked pointedly around at the hundreds of students that milled around the front steps of the school, dotted with several teachers and parents, and then back at his friend. Jasper scanned the crowd vacantly.

"What, you think it might look suspect?"

Jack growled in frustration, "You mean if I unzipped my bag, pulled out the packet and handed it over to you? No, not at all, Jas. Stop being paranoid."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Jasper's answer had been a sound smack to the back of the head. He rubbed futilely at the crown of his head. When he looked back up, Jack was walking in through the front doors.

"Jack? Come on, man. You know my brain doesn't compute sarcasm!"

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Yes! Now give me the dr- NOTES! I need those notes!"

XxXXxX

Jack had tried and tried again without avail throughout the rest of the school day to lose the people that surrounded him continuously. He had decided to purposely avoid Jasper. Mostly because he was infinitely irritating, but also because he had arrived at the conclusion that his hunger now far outweighed his loyalty to his friend.

He had a couple of close encounters with Alex in the hall but had quickly walked in the opposite direction when she tried to approach him. The last thing he needed was to elicit from her an outburst reminiscent of the previous night in a room full of highschool students. Yes, he would definitely give that experience a miss.

The teachers seemed to have a vendetta against him skipping class. Who would've thought? When he was ten minutes late to English, Mrs Brearley even went so far as to stick her head into the male restrooms and called for him until he begrudgingly marched pass her and into the classroom. Out of spite, he fell asleep during her lecture on "To Kill A Mocking Bird".

Luckily, last period was Gym Class and Jack knew that Mr Lanfrem's disdain for him would mean that the coach would be all too happy to overlook his absence.

So... here he was again. Sitting behind the sports shed. With a tiny little plastic packet in his shaking hands.

"My God, I have missed you," he muttered under his breath.

"Really? I think we may need to slow this relationship down, Jack."

With reflexes as swift as lightning, Jack shoved the packet back into his duffel, then hesitantly looked up with a scowl to see the owner of the voice. Alex regarded him with a faint smile playing on her perfectly glossed lips and flipped back her golden hair. When he only continued to glare at her, her smile faltered and an unassured crease appeared between her brows.

"I didn't mean... I mean I don't assume that you're talking to me. That you missed me. I mean...," as she floundered, Jack glowered, not able to be remotely civil when the sating of his burning hunger was so close he could taste it only to be delayed by Alexis Avalen-Fucking-Leigh. Eventually, Alex stopped talking and pulled her trusty cigarettes out of her pocket. With visibly trembling hands, she took one from the packet and lit it.

And then she sat down beside him. It was all Jack could do to not bite his knuckle in involuntary rage.

"Do you have to do that here?" he snapped.

Her gaze snapped down at him. Hurt intruded her eyes before it was followed with defiant petulance, "Yes, if I don't want to get caught, I do. Do you have to do that here? Wait... what are you doing? And who were you talking to before?"

"What?" Jack felt his face screw up incredulously as he desperately grappled for an out, "No one. And what do you mean you have to do that here if you don't want to get caught? What about the old tennis court right out behind the oval that never gets used anymore? Or behind Mr Ramen's science lab seeing as the old guy is too senile to notice anyway? Or the girls' toilets on E Block?"

"Smoke alarm?" Alex pointed out triumphantly.

"Broken. Has been for years," Jack retorted heatedly.

"Oh. Well I didn't know... Hold up, how did you know that?"

"I was the one that broke it!"

Alex stared at Jack in shock for a full five seconds before her mouth started twitching upwards, "You broke the smoke alarm in the female restrooms? Doesn't that seem kind of... pointless?"

"It was a dare," Jack admitted grudgingly.

"Oh," Alex's smile was now a full blown grin. Jack could barely restrain himself from smiling back.

She was breathtaking.

Jack halted that train of thought in it's tracks.

This was Alexis Avalen-Leigh. Enough said.

"So... I gave you three other options. You gonna use any of them?"

"No. I'm pretty comfy," Alex replied, easily ignoring his impatience. She mock stretched and shuffled around leisurely where she sat, as if it proved how comfortable the gravel they were sitting on really was. Lifting her cigarette to her lips, she took a long drag and held it for a few seconds, a deliberating frown forming on her face before she slowly let it out in a long trail. She cleared her throat and adjusted her expression to a casual one, "And also..."

Jack sighed and zipped up his bag. There was obviously no chance of that hit today.

Alex continued, "Also, I just wanted to apologise again. Um... I really don't know what got into me. Normally I'm much nicer than that... Not that I think I'm nice. God, I sound so full of -"

"Why do you keep doing that?" Jack interrupted her.

She turned to look at him questioningly, "Doing what?"

"Backtracking. As soon as you say something remotely generous about yourself, you correct it, like you've said something wrong."

"No I don't," Alex automatically responded. At Jack's pointed look, she sheepishly shrugged in agreement, "I guess I do."

"So, why?"

"I don't know. I guess..." Alex shook her head and lifted the cigarette to her lips again. When she looked at Jack again, he was still staring at her, waiting for a legitimate answer. She closed her eyes and sighed before speaking again. And when she did, he words poured out of her like a long overdue confession, "I'm a cheerleader. I'm dating the quarterback. My parents are rich. My friends' are cheerleaders. And they date jocks. And their parents are rich. I'm basically a walking cliche."

"...And?"

"And I know what people expect of me. To be brainless and bitchy and narcissistic. I'm supposed to only care about my hair and my clothes and that my daddy won't buy me a new cell phone. I'm not supposed to care that my alleged friends would bad mouth me to each other as soon as hug me and tell me how much they love me. I'm supposed to laugh when some poor kid gets beaten up by my boyfriend and his stupid friends because he was brave and said something that threatened their alpha male syndrome. But I hate that person. I hate her. And as much as I try, I can't bring myself to be her," Alex cringed at the silence that followed. Unable to look at Jack, she continued in a whisper, "I do it out of spite. People expect these things from me. Out of spite, I give them something better than that... Well, I try to. I'm not saying that I'm this fantastic humanitarian or anything-"

"I can't believe you're doing it again," Jack smirked, although there was no mocking in his tone.

"I'm sorry," she replied, blushing and taking another drag. She shook her head with a smile, "No, I really am sorry. Man, I am such a drama queen. Here I am complaining about my problems to _you_. That's just... completely unbalanced."

"A little," Jack conceded under his breath.

"So, I'm sorry," Alex said abruptly.

"You already said that."

"No, no, I'm now apologising for last night... again... which is what I came to do in the first place," She hesitated for a moment before shoving her hand into the front pocket of her hooded sweater. When her hand reappeared, it was holding a folded piece of notepaper. She jutted it out toward him, "And to give you this."

Jack stared at it for a moment before raising one brow, "Hey, you were the one that said you wanted to slow this relationship down. Now you're giving me love letters? What's with the mixed signals?"

Alex rolled her eyes, "Just read it, Romeo."

Jack smirked. He took the paper from her hand and unfolded it gently, a frown of concentration creasing his brow as he read the rounded, curling writing:

**TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,**

**I AM PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO**

**THIS WEEKEND'S LOUD ASS,**

**OH-MY-GOD-SO-OUT-OF-FUCKING-CONTROL PARTY**

**9PM SATURDAY**

**YOURS FAITHFULLY,**

**ALEXIS AVALEN-LEIGH**

**X O X O**

"Did I get the name of the party right? I didn't want you to be confused about what I was inviting you to," Alex smiled shyly.

Jack fought back a laugh and took a moment to compose himself, "Um... yeah. Uh, that's right. I think the kisses and hugs at the bottom might be overkill though."

"Really? I thought it added a nice informal contrast to the 'Yours Faithfully'," Alex laughed, "What can I say? Old habits die hard."

Jack maintained a smile for a few moments before it faltered and he cleared his throat, "Why? Why would you want to invite me to this?"

Alex sobered and shrugged, "It'll sound weird but... I feel the need to prove myself to you. That I'm not the person you probably think I am. Don't ask me why it has to be you. Maybe 'cause you're the only person who might, possibly care that I'm not...her."

Fighting the instinctive urge to attack the vulnerability she was displaying, Jack looked back down at the improvised invite in his hands. Saturday. Tomorrow. It meant he would have to get away from the house and Bobby during the day to get his hit. And in time to be slightly clean and sober by nine that night. It would be a close call.

"So... will you come?"

"Come to what? Jack! I've been looking for you everywhere, man!" Jasper blundered towards Jack and Alex, for some inexplicable reason, completely out of breath. Lack of tact intact, he stopped in front of them, hunched over with hands on knees, puffing at Alex, "Come to what?" and then at Jack, "Where are we going?"

"You're going nowhere," Jack managed to say before Jasper snatched the invite out of his hand. His quick brown eyes scrolled over the writing, growing wider over the seconds that passed.

"Oh... My... God... This party sounds awesome! We're going right?" he exclaimed excitedly before remembering his specified version of manners and looking at Alex, "I mean, do you mind if I come too? I don't take up much room and I'll bring my own alcohol... Oh! And I have sick party tricks!"

Alex was temporarily stunned by the onslaught that was everyday Jasper. It took her a moment or two to respond, "Of course! Of course you're invited... Uh...,"

"Tomcat," Jasper offered with a cocked brow and attempted seductive tone.

"No one calls you that, Jas," Jack reminded his friend before turning back to Alex, "His name is Jasper. And you don't have to invite him to your party."

"No, it's fine," Alex confirmed with a tight lipped smile. There was a following silence that even Jasper didn't disrupt except to look back and forth between the two people in front of him with a steadily growing grin.

"So, you'll both come then?" Alex asked hopefully, looking at Jack.

"Sure!" Jasper answered.


End file.
